Check out the first trailer for Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar and realize that this is the very definition of a teaser. Not a lot is known about the sci-fi picture save for the short synopsis:
“A group of explorers make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.”
Of course Matthew McConaughey could read the ingredients to a bag of Sun Chips and it would probably turn me on.
Bilbo and company could not match the opening of An Unexpected Journey but still opened huge worldwide. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opened to $73.7 million down from last year’s $84.7 million but should not be cause for worry. Many thought An Unexpected Journey’s opening was disappointing and it went on to gross $1 billion worldwide. After one weekend Desolation of Smaug is sitting at $205 million with worldwide totals.
Tyler Perry released another Madea movie. This time a Christmas tale which I am sure involved her slapping kids, being funny and one of her family dealing with an abusive husband who ends up learning the true meaning of love just in time for the holidays. I swear I just made that up so if I guessed the plot of it I am sorry. Bringing in $16 million was on the low end for Madea but it was up against a lot of competition.
1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $73.7 million/ $73.7 million
Sony is banking on Spider-Man being their Marvel meal ticket. They have announced a trio of huge facts for the Spidey movie future.
First is that writers Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Jeff Pinkner will be scripting The Amazing Spider-Man 3 with hopes director Marc Webb will return. It is set for release on June 10, 2016.
Second and bigger is that Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Ed Solomon are scripting a Venom movie with Kurtzman taking the director’s chair. This should make fans of the villain happy hoping it can erase the memory of Spider-Man 3.
Third and even bigger is that The Sinister Six are getting their own movie. The great thing about this is that Drew Goddard is writing the script and has the option to direct. He is the writer and show runner on the Daredevil series coming to Netflix and directed the wonderful Cabin in the Woods. He is also close to Joss Whedon so my thinking is that if Whedon is handling Marvel for Disney why not pick up one of his friends and cohorts to handle the Marvel side at Sony.
Big things are ahead for Spider-Man and his rogues gallery. Are you entertained?
I finally did it. I knew it would happen eventually. I bought a Wii U. Despite dismal sales and severely lacking third party support I am a Nintendo fanboy at heart and I can only deny Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda and the rest for only so long. I thought I would give you my quick impressions of Nintendo’s successor to the Wii now that I have put more than a few hours into the system (a lot of hours actually).
1. The Wii U feels like Nintendo’s “Dreamcast”. Now I know when Sega released the Dreamcast it was far and above better than the PS1 and I felt was a better console than the PS2 for the short time it lasted. The Xbox One and PS4 have already surpassed the Wii U by leaps and bounds in the horsepower department. Where I am making the Dreamcast comparison is that it is something completely new for Nintendo to attempt and it feels very fresh because of it. Sega teamed with Microsoft to bring the Dreamcast into the online world and had the VMU memory card that went into the controller for a second screen experience never seen in consoles. Likewise Nintendo is accepting that online play is the future of games (a little late) and incorporated the MiiVerse which feels like a simplistic, yet fun online experience. Think of it as Xbox Live without all the dickheads.
The Wii U gamepad has had its importance lessened over the past year with the various apps that Playstation and Xbox offer for a second screen. Smartglass is a fun add-on but has not made me need it in any way and remote play on the Vita is the closest thing to the Wii U gamepad. Nintendo should not downplay the use of the gamepad in the future. They should embrace it more because it is still unique even with Sony and Microsoft doing their best to emulate it.
2. When you actually own a Wii U Nintendo’s marketing of the system is even more horrible than you think. Some people still think the Wii U is a controller that goes with your Wii. Some people know it is a new system but don’t care because they think it is too similar to the Wii. Nintendo is doing nothing to help themselves in this department and it boggles the mind because while the Wii U will never match the numbers of the Xbox One or PS4 with the better marketing it could sell way better than the paltry numbers it is putting up. No commercials I have seen have played up the ability to watch Netflix on the gamepad from room to room or that you can control your TV and cable through the gamepad and Nintendo TVii. The name of the system doesn’t help matters. It is not as sexy or cute as Wii U but Nintendo might have been better served calling it the Wii 2 at least to give consumers (the ones who do not pay attention) a better idea that this is a new console.
3. There are actual games to play. Yes I know for people that bought a Wii U last year this was not the case and there were months with no releases at all but now that the system has been out for a year there are plenty of titles to pick up and get your money’s worth. A lot of people just spent $500 (me included) for an Xbox One for the hope that March’s Titanfall will be as amazing as we want it to be. You have Dead Rising, Ryse and Killer Instinct to hold you over until then but I will be honest and say I am counting down the days until March 11th. For $299 I now have something to play Super Mario 3D World, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Zombi U, Lego City Undercover, Super Mario and Luigi Wii U, The Wonderful 101 and Pikmin 3 with Donkey Kong coming in February and Mario Kart shortly after. Then comes Super Smash Bros. I know the other next-gen consoles will always offer more but for right now I feel justified with the purchase with what I just listed. Only two of those games are third party. I am fine with that. I have no problem playing the Wii U as a Nintendo game only machine especially when their releases are almost always worth the wait.
4. I can’t help but play the “what if?” game. Now that I am entrenched in Super Mario 3D World I am convinced that only a few changes would have made Nintendo’s console a success. If they could have just released 3D World when the system launched instead of Super Mario Bros. Wii U (which we have seen a lot of over the past few years on Wii and 3DS) there would have been a true system seller. This game is getting wonderful reviews (9.5’s and higher) and for good reason. It is the best 3D Mario since Super Mario 64 but more on that in my review when the game is done.
If Super Mario 3D World could not be released in time for November of 2012 why not just hold off the console until it is ready? Nintendo had a whole year head start and it got them nowhere. Imagine a world where Nintendo holds off the Wii U until a September 2013 release, still two months before the Xbox One and Playstation 4, and launches with a 3D Mario game that people see is getting near perfect scores along with Pikmin 3, Lego City Undercover, The Wonderful 101 as well as third party games like Batman: Arkham Origins and Assassin’s Creed IV releasing on the system in October. Then hit them with the news that there won’t be a post-holiday drought with Donkey Kong coming in February and Mario Kart in March. I believe the Wii U could have sold the same four million units worldwide from September to January that it took them almost a year to sell.
Here is the trailer for Tom Cruise’s Edge of Tomorrow which was previously known as All You Need is Kill. Douglas Liman (The Bourne Identity) directs the sci-fi movie which sees Tom Cruise relive the same set of events over again, each time learning more and more about how to defeat alien invaders.
Just think of it as Groundhog Day with guns, aliens and Emily Blunt in the Andie MacDowall role.
Bethesda has announced that their huge MMO, The Elder Scrolls Online, will release on PC April 4, 2014. The Xbox One and PS4 versions will release later in June 2014. No reason was given for the delay but developing an MMO for consoles is no easy task. They announced The Elder Scrolls Online as a PC title initially.
I want to play The Elder Scrolls Online but still am not on board with paying a monthly fee to do so. I understand the need to make revenue off of all of your work put into the game but I can’t justify paying for a full $60 game then $15 a month after. At least not until I hear about the results.
Is anyone out there planning on picking up The Elder Scrolls Online at release? Or do you just want The Elder Scrolls VI?
Can one trailer make me forget about Ferris Bueller and Moe Sizlack taxiing their way around New York and running away from lizard babies in Madison Square Garden?
No, it can’t but it is a step in the right direction.
That’s a lot of Snake coming at your face. Phrasing, I know.
The cover to Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is here and it is a great big Snake face fest. Look below for the exact same cover just with a PS3 logo at the top. Fanboys will complain one looks better than the other.
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes releases on March 18, 2014.
That game is how long can I wait before I laugh uncontrollably to the point of almost depriving my brain of too much oxygen.
I invite you to watch the trailer to the Wachowski’s Jupiter Ascending. They are following up Cloud Atlas with this sci-fi movie where Channing Tatum is some kind of bounty hunting elf and Mila Kunis is the future Queen of the Universe. I can’t believe I just typed that just as much as you can’t believe you read it. Already going out on a limb and calling this “Most Unintentionally Funny Serious Movie of 2014”. Am I the only one that got a weird David Lynch Dune vibe?
Maybe I am not giving it a fair shake. I need to watch it again.
